Pile driving devices of this kind are known from Patent Specifications DE 27 48 668 and DE 36 34 905 and have proved excellent for pile driving work on land and under water for the purpose of fixing structural bodies.
Such pile driving devices are designed for piles having a diameter of less than two and half meters and are no wider than this diameter. However, for other structures, such as, for example, wind generators, there is now an increasing need for pile driving devices which are suitable for driving in piles of a much larger diameter. These pile driving devices must have a point where they are set on the pile where they are of the same size greater than the pile to be driven. Special particularly wide pile driving devices are thereby required which are expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, a general rule of thumb applies where the pile sleeve should have a length which corresponds to at least twice the diameter of the pile which is to be driven in. This is necessary for securely guiding the pile sleeve in order to prevent tilting during operation. The structural length of the pile driving device thereby increases additionally because the pile sleeve has to be extended in proportion to the pile diameter in accordance with the above mentioned rule of thumb. Apart from the increased manufacturing costs a greater transport expense is also incurred. If pile driving devices are used in off-shore areas the pile driving devices can be conveyed for most of the journey length by ship. If however pile driving devices are used on land, such as when setting up wind generating plants, then the transport is often only, or for the most part, over land routes. Normal road transport of the load is only possible for widths of up to two and half meters. If the load is wider than this then the transport is only permissible on shut-off roads under special safety measures. Under such conditions extensive planning is required, possibly with structural measures on route being necessary. Conveyance by road is therefore time-consuming, complicated and expensive.